Statue Rembrandt in painter's coat - Leiden

Confident with his hands at his sides, and extremely focused, this bronze statue of painter Rembrandt van Rijn seems to be looking ahead. He has donned his long painter's coat and donned a beret and may originally have been looking at a painting or a model. The sculpture was inspired by the ‘Portrait of Rembrandt’ drawing hanging in the Rembrandt House.
The placement of this sculpture took a lot of effort because the municipality of Leiden initially considered this location unsuitable. The sculpture was donated to Leiden by artist Gabriël Sterk, and since 13 July 2024 it has stood in this location next to windmill De Put, overlooking the Rembrandt Bridge and the Weddesteeg where Rembrandt was born in 1606. It will remain there for at least two years.

Gabriël Andreas Jacobus Sterk (Vleuten-De Meern, 1942) is a Dutch sculptor who currently lives and works in France. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Adelaide and at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. He made especially many animal sculptures, especially of horses, and several large bronze sculptures of famous painters; besides Rembrandt, also of Cézanne, Van Gogh and Picasso. He received the Prix de Rome medal for his statue David and Saul, which currently stands in the municipality of Breukelen.